Hand held power drills are widely utilized in the field for various construction, repair and maintenance operations. The portability of such tools has made them an efficient and effective choice for site-based operations. Such tools, however, are inherently unstable, imprecise and difficult to employ for some operations.
For example, hand held drill motors having pistol-type hand grips are difficult to use on slick or uneven surfaces, having a tendency to “walk” or slip from the desired drilling location upon initial motor start-up. Moreover, such drill motors tend toward binding of the bit in the workpiece, especially at difficult or awkward attack angles. Finally, at some drilling site locations, maintenance of sufficient working force (pressure applied at the drill bit to the workpiece) is difficult due to workpiece location.
In an effort to address these shortcomings, a number of apparatus have heretofore been suggested and/or utilized for stabilizing the tool and/or aiding in application of drilling pressure at the bit (see, for example, U.S. Patent Documents US2004/0202516, U.S. Pat. Nos. 641,922, 1,184,829, 2,667,092, 2,695,525, 2,827,807, 2,947,205, 3,248,973, 3,538,794, 3,698,827, 3,741,670, 3,834,828, 3,957,387, 4,168,926, 5051,044, and 5,890,851). Such heretofore known apparatus have, however, met with limited acceptance, due at least in part to lack of sufficient work site adaptability, for example the ability to operate independent of attitude of tool operation and/or simplification of operation of various attachments, guides and mounts not to mention the tool itself in the field. Operational stability, ease of use, and/or ability to operate mounts and attachments with one hand while operating the tool with the other should be attended to in further improving such apparatus.